The future of high-definition gaming

Red Herring explores the implications of high-definition gaming (720p, 1080i, 1080p) for not only consumers, but for Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. From the article: "Consumers around the world are forking over serious cash for high-def TVs. During the first half of 2006, NPD Group says U.S. shoppers spent more than $4 billion on LCD and plasma TVs. According to iSuppli, shipments of HD displays should overtake analog cathode ray tubes (CRTs) by 2008."

Journey back to 2001's console wars with me for a minute. Remember what the big push back then was? Who had the most power and maybe a little DVD value-add which both the Xbox and PS2 supported (sans controller). But no one manufacturer was pushing a specific initiative per se like HD gaming, motion controls, or even online play (which didn't officially come to consoles until 2002). So how do specific initiative based features like HD gaming change this generation's console wars, if at all? And will Nintendo's exclusion of HD support for Wii hurt the console's chances despite its targeting a different audience?